The Good Kind
by peetasfakeleg
Summary: Part 2 of my very first fanfic This is Wrong! The sanctuary of the bunker is gone, and there is still a war going on. I don't want to give anything away, so I can't say much else. Reading This is Wrong first will make this story make more sense! I hope you all enjoy it! : Read, review and enjoy!
1. Chapter 1

**A/N: Hello all! I'm glad to announce that this is the beginning of Part 2 of This is Wrong! I tried to make another fanfic, but it wasn't very popular (AT ALL, really… 4 chapters and 3 reviews… kind of discouraging!) and it has been ridiculously hard to continue. So in between chapters of that story (which you should all check out! It **_**will**_** get better as it gets further into the story) I have decided to work on this story! I really hope that I do not disappoint! I'm so in love with this story and I'm working hard on giving it an actual direction. So here it goes! Read, review, and enjoy! **

**Part 2**

**Chapter 1**

I wake up sore and damp, but uncomfortably warm. I don't stretch, knowing any movement from me will wake up the sleeping man next to me. Instead, I just cuddle closer to him, wishing that his warmth would dry me off. I feel wet all the way through to my bones, and long for something to be between my body and the hard, cold rock beneath me.

My whole body aches, and I feel a bit embarrassed because of this. I used to be able to run for hours in the woods without feeling very sore. But now, I can feel muscles I forgot I had. Apparently being in the bunker has made me go soft.

I can hear someone snoring on the other side of Cato and I wonder if it's Madge or Gale. This cave is hardly big enough for the four of us, and we've ended up sleeping in a sort of huddle in the very back of it. It's kind of funny that Gale and Cato ended up sleeping next to each other. Of course, they sleep back to back, but it's still pretty amusing to me.

I think back to the last few hours. It seems like so long ago that I was waking up in an actual bed next to Cato. I hardly even remember what I ate in the cafeteria yesterday. Now we're in a small, damp cave huddled with Gale and Madge and we have absolutely no idea what state the bunker is in anymore. I sigh and realize that I had actually come to like that place and the people in it.

My thoughts flash to my mother and Prim, and my heart begins to ache. I know Gale said that he got them all out safely, but I still can't help but worry. I worry about Cato's family as well. I wonder how his mother is doing. After all, she just had a major brain surgery. I can't see how living in the wilderness could help in her recovery. But at least they didn't leave her down in the bunker. Her fate could have been much worse if she had been caught there.

I shudder, wondering what exactly happened. I remember feeling the first bomb hit. The trembling went past just the ground, shaking me to my core. I wonder if it felt like that when the Capitol bombed District 12. I feel a pang in my heart as I think of poor Madge and everything she's gone through. This cannot be good for her recovery.

And what is with her and Gale? He had barely spoken two words to her in the years that we had been selling strawberries to her father. I remember him commenting sarcastically on her dress the day of the reaping, and how I had to scold him for it. He had resented her for her money and her status and it wasn't fair to her. But now, he's caring for her. I wonder what happened between them while I was in the arena, and then in the hospital. I try to peek over Cato's shoulder to see the two of them, but I can't do it without moving.

Before we fell asleep, Gale had been holding Madge in his lap, still trying to calm her down. She wasn't crazed or anything like that. She was just quietly sobbing. Cato and I sat next to them without a word, and we listened for more of the attack. The ground rumbled a few more times, and then there was nothing. It must have been hours before any of us even moved.

I had heard Cato's stomach grumble, and realized that we might need to eat something. I knew that a fire was out of the question, but maybe there were berries or greens around here. So I went out to look for food while the three of them stayed in the cave.

Cato had tried to come with me, but I wouldn't let him. He's much too big, and I wanted to set some snares for the morning, when a fire would be less noticeable. If I had let him come with me, I'm almost positive his loud footsteps would scare all the game within a mile radius away. And Gale didn't even offer, still trying to comfort the sobbing Madge.

I set a few traps in the dim light and found what berries and greens that I could tell for sure were edible. It was almost dawn by the time I returned, but no one said anything. Cato wrapped his arm tightly around my waist and pulled me close to his side as I sat down next to him, and I could feel him trembling. He scolded me for staying out so long, but I waved him off and passed around the plants that I managed to gather. Gale had to beg Madge to eat some of the berries I found, and we all snacked in silence before laying down to rest.

I'm not even sure how any of us slept at all. I mean, I'm sure I only slept for a few hours, but I was expecting a lot less. We were all so shaken up by the bombing, and I know I wasn't the only one worried about the rest of the people from the bunker. Had the Capitol found their hideout? Or were they still safe? How were they finding food? Or were they even finding any food at all? It would take a lot of game to feed that many people and I worry that they'll starve. I also worry that some of them had been injured, but I shake that worry away. As long as my mother and Prim are there, any injuries would be cared for.

Cato starts to stir and I look up at him. In the dim light of the cave, I can see him smiling at me. "Hey." He whispers, not wanting to disturb the two people behind him. He presses his lips against my forehead for a few seconds before returning his gaze to mine.

"Hey. How did you sleep?" I ask him, nuzzling into his chest.

"Pretty good, considering." He replies, tightening his grip on me. "What about you?"

"I've slept better." I mutter, pressing my face into his warm chest and breathing in his scent. Even though the bombing was emotionally draining, I can't help but feel happy that at least I have Cato here with me. A pang of guilt hits me as I think of how selfish that thought was. Cato could have been with his family, safe wherever they were hiding out, taking care of them. But instead, he's in this tiny, damp cave with me.

"You're worried about our families? I am too." His voice drops and I can tell he doesn't want me to notice the crack of emotion in it.

"You have nothing to worry about. They're all safe. I made sure of it." Gale mumbles from the other side of Cato as he sits up to stretch. He cracks his back before standing up. "I'm going to go check those snares you set up last night." And then he leaves before we can say a word to him. I wonder how long he's been awake.

Madge is sitting up now, and even in the dim lighting, I can see the emptiness in her eyes. I pull myself away from Cato and crawl over him to sit next to her. "Hey." I say, realizing I have absolutely no idea what to really say to her.

She looks up at me and gives me a half-hearted smile. "Hey."

I grab her shoulder and squeeze, pulling her closer to me. "We'll be okay." It's all I can think of to say, and I look to Cato for help. He stands up and walks over to Madge's other side, where he plops down next to her. She glances up at him and gives him the same smile.

"Thank you… for saving me back there. You could have left me." She mumbles, looking down at her hands in her lap.

Cato reaches for her chin and pulls her face up. "We would never have left you, Madge." She gives him another weak smile before letting her chin slip out of his grip. We just sit on either side of her in silence until Gale comes back with a few skinned rabbits.

"We shouldn't have to worry about a fire anymore, but to be on the safe side, I'm going to take these about half a mile north."

"I'll come with you." I state as I stand up. Cato and Gale both begin to protest, but I wrestle a few of the carcasses out of Gale's hand and make my way out of the cave without paying much attention to either of them. Madge and I are friends, of course, and I should feel bad about not wanting to be around her. I should want to stay with her and comfort her. But I just can't. I have no idea what to say to her. I've never been good in situations like that. So instead, I put my mind on things I know, like cooking rabbits.

"You didn't have to come. I _am_ capable of cooking a few rabbits, you know." Gale mutters as he catches up to me. We are walking quickly and silently, and I can't help but feel like we're back home in our own woods. I itch for a bow, knowing we would eat much better if I had it.

"I needed to get out of there." I don't give any excuses, and I know he won't ask for them. After all, Gale knew me better than anyone else. Hell, he still might. I'm almost positive that he knows why I had to get out of the cave, and I'm thankful that he doesn't give me a guilt trip over it.

We stop in a small clearing and begin making our fire. Gale gathers wood that he knows won't produce too much smoke while I clear away all of the underbrush that smokes heavily. As we get our fire going, we hang the carcasses over the heat and lean against a rock, picking berries off of the bush next to it. I pop one in my mouth and let my teeth break the soft skin of the berry, letting the sweet juices fill my mouth. I smile to myself as I close my eyes to enjoy it.

I can hear Gale chuckle at me, and I turn to narrow my eyes at him. "What?" I spit at him.

"You must be the only person to get _that_ excited over a berry." I roll my eyes at him and throw a handful of berries at his face. He catches a few in his mouth and I laugh. "Do you ever miss how things used to be?" He asks through a mouth full of berries.

"You mean having to hunt every day to make sure my family doesn't starve? Not so much." I joke with him but he turns to look at me seriously. "I guess I miss some things. Like when we used to spend all day in the woods." I smile, remembering those days, where we just laughed and talked like there wasn't a care in the world.

"Yeah, me too." He says quietly, reaching over to turn the meat over. We go back to relaxing against the rock until we're sure the meat has been cooked all the way. Gale grabs the now cooked meat and I put the fire out quickly. We walk back and snack on some more berries and we reach the cave in no time.

I spot Cato and Madge laughing, and I smile. I knew it was a good idea to leave him with her. They glance up to see us walking in and stand to meet us. We distribute the meat and dig in. Madge looks closely at it before taking a bite, but soon enough, she's cleaned the bones of their meat like the rest of us.

"So what's the plan?" Cato turns to Gale, who is starting on his second rabbit.

"We'll stay here for one more night to be sure we aren't being watched, and then we'll meet up with everyone else." He says matter of factly, taking a large bite out of his food.

"How do you know that they're all okay?" Cato asks again, his voice slightly cracking towards the end of the sentence.

"I just do." Gale says firmly, raising his eyes to meet Cato's stare.

"But how do you know the bombers didn't find them?" Cato asks more forcefully, not breaking their eye contact.

Gale's stare falters a little and he looks down. "I don't know that they didn't find them, but I know they are well hidden." And we drop that topic.

"This meat is really good." Madge mutters and we turn to look at her. She blushes, and turns back to her food, helping herself with a second rabbit.

We all laugh at her little outburst, and the tension in the air eases. With full bellies, we lean against the walls of the cave and stretch out. "So what are we supposed to do for a whole day?" I ask, realizing we need something to do to pass the time or it will seem like forever until we get to head towards our families.

"That's a good question." Cato asks, seeming to ponder my question.

"I vote we find some sort of bedding. I don't like waking up wet." Madge suggests and we all agree. We stand up to make our way out of the cave, when we feel the ground tremble again.

"Oh no." I whisper as we all freeze. Madge sinks back to the ground and puts her head between her knees, trying to force herself to stay calm. This bomb seemed much closer, and from the fear in Gale's face, it may be even closer than we'd like. I grab onto Cato's arm to steady myself, and realize that my knuckles are turning white. I let go, but his hand reaches for mine before I can drop it to my side.

We stay in those positions for about an hour, counting the bombs dropping. One… two… three… four… five… six… seven… eight. Some of them seem further away, as if they had to make sure they completely destroyed the bunker. But over half of them were much closer, and rattled me right down to my bones.

I want to look at Gale. I want to ask him if he thinks that our people have been found. But I can't seem to open my mouth. I can't even look away from the opening of the cave long enough to study Gale's face for answers.

We stand there, waiting for the sound of more bombs, but hear nothing. Madge is sobbing, and I sit down next to her and wrap my arms around her. I don't try to calm her down because I feel like I want to cry as well. Instead, I just sit there and listen to her cry, still staring at the opening of the cave.

Gale hasn't moved, but Cato comes to sit down next to me. He's silent and he doesn't quite touch me. I know he's thinking of his family right now, so I don't say anything to him either. He leans back against the wall of the cave and closes his eyes. It's almost completely silent, except for Madge's stifled sobbing.

Gale looks back at us and I can't see the expression on his face. "I have to go check on them." He begins to leave but I jump up and grab his arm.

"Are you insane? They could be watching, waiting for any survivors. You can't possibly go out there." I stammer. He tries to pull his arm out of my grip, but I dig my nails in.

"I have to know." His eyes cloud over, and I loosen my grip a little.

"But what if they are okay and you end up leading the hovercrafts right to them?" Cato murmurs from his spot next to Madge. She lifts her head to see Gale's reaction, although I'm not sure she can even see anything through her puffy eyes.

"That's why I'm going alone. I'll be a lot harder to spot alone than with the three of you coming with me." His voice is hollow, and I know I should let him go. He'll never stop blaming himself if anything happens to those people, and it will kill him not knowing for sure.

I sigh and release my grip. His eyes focus on my face and I embrace him quickly. "Be careful. And tell Prim I'm okay." I give him a light squeeze and he tries to give me a smile, but it comes out looking stiff and forced.

Madge hops up from her spot and runs over to us, taking my spot in Gale's arms. She hugs him tightly, burying her face into his chest. I step back and lower myself back next to Cato to give them space. He whispers something to her and she nods, and then whispers something back to him. He then gives her a quick kiss on the forehead before they release their embrace. He looks over at us and nods before stepping out into the light outside of the cave.

Madge just stands there for what seems like forever before turning back to us. As she sits down, she sort of chuckles to herself. "So does this mean that finding bedding is out of the question?"

This makes Cato and I laugh. I can't even control my laughter and soon, the three of us are laughing like we've heard the most hysterical thing ever. When we finally calm down, the tension from the bombing returns.

"I'll go find some. I think I have the perfect idea what we can use." I say, thinking of the thick, dry underbrush. It would make a nice barrier between our bodies and the rock floor of the cave.

"It's too dangerous. We can wait until night time." Cato suggests, but I shake him off.

"I'll be fine, I promise. And I won't stray too far away." I try to get up, but he grabs onto my arm and drags me back down.

"No. You can wait until night." He looks at me sternly and I sigh. I don't want to fight with him, especially in front of Madge. So I just cross my arms and stare straight ahead, trying to ignore him. He wraps his arms around me and pulls me towards him. I don't struggle, but I stiffen up to make it a little harder on him. "You're cute when you pout." He whispers in my ear and I turn to glare at him.

"I'm mad at you." I try to say coldly, but I'm already warming back up to him. He just laughs and buries his face in my hair. I grumble and try to move away from him half-heartedly. But it's no use; he's much too strong for me.

I hear a sniffle, and realize Madge is still here. I force my way out of Cato's lap and give him a dirty look as I nod towards her. He seems to understand, but doesn't loosen his grip on me.

We sit in silence for the remainder of daylight. I worry about Gale and my family and the rest of the people from the bunker. I know Cato must be thinking the same thing. Madge cries every now and then, and I can't tell if it's because she's worried about Gale or if she's thinking about her family again. I wish there was something I could say, but even if I was the comforting type, I don't think I would have the energy to comfort her when I'm feeling like this.

As we watch the light from the opening of the cave fade, I begin to get antsy. I want to go outside and get some fresh air. I need to be away from this tension. And I'm starting to feel hungry again. It's too late for a fire, and I'm not sure I'd want to try to make one anyways. But there are enough edible plants around here to soothe my appetite.

"Am I allowed to go outside now?" I ask sarcastically and Cato just shakes his head at me.

"I think I'll come with you." He says firmly, but speaks again before I have a chance to object. "What about you, Madge? You up for some fresh air?" She grins at him, but shakes her head.

"I think I'll stay here and man the fort. But make sure you bring enough bedding for four." I know she's worrying about Gale now, as am I. We nod and Cato stands up first, turning to lend me a helping hand. I take it, and he lifts me off the ground. We walk quietly out of the cave, and lace our fingers together.

"I want to pick some food, so if you want to gather the bedding…" I start, but his lips are against mine before I can finish. He presses my back against a tree and I can feel the hunger in his mouth.

When we finally break apart, I give him a questioning look. He just grins at me sheepishly. "Sorry, I've wanted to do that all day. I missed your lips." I playfully slap his chest and he kisses me again, this time much softer than before. "I'm just so glad that we got out of there together. I don't know what I would do if I lost you."

I smile at him and then hug him tightly. I don't know what I would have done if I hadn't gotten out of there with him either. "Ditto." I stand on my toes so I can peck him on the cheek before releasing myself from his grip. "So, how about going to gather that bedding? I don't want to leave Madge alone for too long." He nods and I smile at him, glad that he understands. "Okay, so if you want to start scooping up some of that thicker underbrush, that would be great. Just make sure it isn't noticeable."

He does as I directed, and I begin to wander around, searching for something for us to eat. I ask Cato for his shirt and he grins cockily at me. "What for?"

"I need something to carry the food in." I look at him sternly, trying not to smile as he wiggles his eyebrows for me and peels his shirt off. My cheeks burn as I admire his torso in the moonlight. He throws his shirt at my face, and it hits me because I'm much too interested in his bare chest. He laughs and I shoot him a playfully hurt look before turning to make a makeshift pack for the food. Once I'm finished gathering enough food, I start to help him pick up enough bedding for a nice, soft bed tonight.

We make our way back to the cave with armfuls of the underbrush. We're almost back to the mouth of the cave when I hear footsteps in the woods around us. I freeze, and Cato stops to turn and look at me. I motion for him to be quiet, and soon he can hear the footsteps as well. I slowly place my armful on the ground and search for a rock or something for protection. Cato does the same as the footsteps come closer.

My heart stops as I run through all of the possibilities. Gale could have gotten caught and now they're coming after us. Maybe they've already gotten Madge. My blood runs cold as I hear the footsteps moving even closer, and I strain to see the shape of the person who is now coming from behind a tree in between us and the mouth of the cave. Before I can do anything, Cato runs from my side and tackles the figure. I hear a grunt and run over to them, surprised to see that I know the mysterious figure.


	2. Chapter 2

**A/N: Sorry about the long wait! I got an awful virus and had to completely wipe my poor computer and start fresh! I've spent the last few days re-installing EVERYTHING and making sure that I actually back up my computer this time! Anyways, my updates for this story will be pretty far apart, although not as far apart as Chapter 1 & 2 were... I'm working on moving, plus I now have two jobs, so it's unlikely that I will be updating as often as I did for the first part of this story! But don't worry, I am ****not**** forgetting about you all! I promise I'm working on this story as often as possible. So be patient with me! **

**Chapter 2**

"What the hell are you doing, boy? Get off me!" The figure spits out under the weight of Cato's body. I smile as the familiar eyes meet mine. But he just glares back, agitated. "What are you just standing around for? Get him off of me!"

Before I can help them get up, Cato rolls off of him and shakes his head. "We thought you were coming to kill us."

"Kill you? We saw the fire earlier today and figured you were part of the bunker. Looks like we were right. Except I didn't realize you were going to attack me. I would have brought a weapon." Haymitch grunts as I help him up. He begins to dust himself off when I actually process what he has said.

"We?" Hope sparks as I realize he could be with the rest of the bunker. With my mother and Prim and Briar and Ryker and Rory and Posy and Vick and all the rest of them.

But the look in his eyes shatter my hope before he can even speak the words. "Effie and me. We were out on a picnic when the bombing started and we took cover under some weeping willows." His eyes flicker at the mention of the picnic and I have to hold a laugh back as I realize he's embarrassed about being on a date with Effie.

"Oh." My voice drops and Cato seems to read my thoughts. I'm sure he got his hopes up when Haymitch mentioned a 'we', although he didn't show it like I did.

"You didn't happen to pass Gale on your way over here, did you?" He questions as he stands himself up and heads over to pick up the bedding he dropped earlier. There are leaves stuck to his pants, but he doesn't seem to notice.

"Gale was with you guys? Where did he go?" Haymitch asks, looking around. I walk back to where I had been standing before and grab the pile of bedding I dropped as well. We begin to lead Haymitch back to our cave and Cato tells Haymitch what happened.

"Gale and Madge escaped with us. We ended up at a cave where we've been since last night. He went to go check on the rest of the people from the bunker who he evacuated before us." Cato explains as I let my imagination run wild. Maybe he got caught. Or maybe he found the safe place, but it had been bombed and now he's mourning alone. I should go find him, especially if the second guess is true. But I know they'd never let me leave alone.

When we reach the cave, Madge jumps up. "Where have you guys been?" Even in the darkness of the cave, she looks relieved to see us, but exhausted from the recent events.

"Sorry we took so long. But we found someone." I gesture at Haymitch as I drop our bedding. Cato drops his armful as well.

"Haymitch!" Madge breathes a sigh of relief and goes to hug him. He tenses up, but relaxes a little and pats her back awkwardly. When she releases me, she turns to give me a questioning look. I shake my head at her, knowing she's wondering about Gale.

"Do you have any water here? I'm parched." Haymitch says, looking around. I point over to a small stream trickling down the wall and disappearing into the cave and he makes his way over to it quickly. After a few handfuls of water, his face shoots up, as if just remembering something.

"Shit! I should go back and get Effie! She'll be worried about me. I told her I wouldn't be gone for too long. She said she'd come after me if I took too long. Stubborn woman." Haymitch begins to back out of the cave and I consider volunteering to go with him, but Cato beats me to it.

"I'll come with you. We'll need to gather more bedding while we're out, so I'll come in handy." He grins at Haymitch, who just nods. I grab his hand, pulling him towards me, trying to think of what I can say to make him stay. "I'll be fine, Katniss." He leans closer to me and lowers his voice. "I'm worried about him crashing through the woods. If anyone is watching out for us, they'll find him in a second." I nod knowingly and stand on my tip toes to plant a quick kiss on his cheek.

As they head out, Madge and I spread the bedding Cato and I had collected on the cave floor. It ends up covering much less than I thought, but I don't want to ask Madge to come with me to collect more. I try to spread it out as much as I can but she isn't stupid, and speaks up as she sees the sparse covering we have. "Let's go get more." She says it more as a question than a statement, but grabs my hand and drags me out of the cave before I have a chance to say anything. "I don't know about you, but I slept like crap last night." I chuckle in agreement, remembering how awful it was, waking up wet and sore from laying on the hard ground.

It's dark outside now, and I take over lead as Madge slows down to adjust to the darkness. "Katniss, I'm worried about Gale."

"I am too. But he'll be alright." I say, wishing I was as confident as I sounded. "What is it with you two anyways?" I ask coyly, not wanting to think about Gale's whereabouts anymore.

I can almost feel her blush at the question and I smile. "What do you mean? He—he's just being nice. He must feel bad for me or something." She stammers.

"Gale isn't usually nice." I point out, and she just shrugs.

"I don't know. I guess he might be protective over me. After all, he had to drag me away from my burning house. My parents were in there and I could hear their screaming. I wanted to go in and save them, but that would have been stupid. I would have died. But Gale saved me. He carried me away from their screams." Her voice cracks and I turn to her. I pull her into a hug, feeling her trembling as she remembers that horrible day.

"I'm sorry, Madge." I say, but she shakes her head.

"Don't be. It isn't your fault. She gives me a halfhearted grin as she pulls away from me. "I should be grateful. I'm alive. And it's all thanks to Gale." I grin at her as her eyes light up. It's more than obvious that she likes him. But then she begins walking again, so I drop the subject, not wanting to make her cry again.

I instruct her on how to pick up the underbrush without leaving too much of a trace that we were there. Soon, we're back at the cave with enough bedding to make our evening a bit more comfortable. We spread it out and I admire the good amount of coverage we've set on the floor in the moonlight that shines through a hole in the roof of our cave. It casts a dim light onto the bedding and somehow makes it seem really appealing.

I sigh as I lower myself onto the cushioning and reach over for the makeshift bag I made earlier to hold the food I gathered. Then I lean my back against the wall and stretch out my legs, relaxing for the first time in a while. I pop a berry into my mouth and then I offer some to Madge, who joins me on the ground.

We've eaten almost all of it when we hear voices. Madge stiffens up and I jump to my feet. But once I hear Effie's laughter echo from the mouth of the cave, I relax. When the three of them make their way to the back of the cave, Effie squeals. "Katniss! I'm so glad to see you! I thought we were goners for sure!" She runs over to me and envelopes me in a dramatic hug.

"Goners, huh? Thanks for the confidence." Haymitch huffs next to Cato and I can't help but laugh at him. He glares at me before making his way towards the wall, where he leans against it and scoots himself onto the floor. Now that he isn't drunk all the time, I notice that he looks much healthier. I know they had alcohol in the bunkers, so I can't help but wonder if Effie has something to do with his newfound sobriety.

Effie brushes off Haymitch's complaint as she lets me go to turn to Madge. "Oh hello, Madge! I'm glad to see you made it out alive as well." She pulls her in for a hug, but it's a lot stiffer than the hug I just received. I wonder what is between them that is making them act so awkward, but I brush it off, knowing it isn't any of my business. "It's a good thing you all found a cave! Let me tell you, sleeping under a weeping willow tree is _not_ my idea of a good time! Those trees attract all sorts of bugs!" She shivers dramatically as she thinks of the creepy crawlers she encountered.

Effie makes her way over to Haymitch and gracefully lowers herself next to him. Her stomach growls and she giggles awkwardly. "I guess I must be hungry." Cato turns to me and I shrug sheepishly.

"Madge and I got hungry while we waited. But I can go get more." I start to stand up, but Effie tries to protest.

"Oh! No! It's fine! I can wait! I'm not _that _hungry! Haymitch did try to feed me, although I was almost positive he was going to get us poisoned." Haymitch grunts again. But I shake my head at her.

"It's fine, Effie. We really need to get more food anyways. And night time is the best time to gather food without being seen." I head for the opening of the cave and hear footsteps behind me. I stop quickly and turn, slamming right into Cato's chest.

"I'm going with you." He says sternly. I almost laugh at him.

"Cato, you're too big. You make way too much noise." I state, poking his chest and realizing how stupid that was. Feeling the warmth and firmness of his muscles just makes me want to be closer to him. And that would be pretty awkward with the audience we have. So I take a step back as a precaution. I don't trust myself around him. His closeness does strange things to me sometimes.

Cato grins as he watches the emotions change in my face. I don't want him to come with me, but that isn't what is showing on my face now. "I'm coming." He says firmly, grabbing my hand and basically dragging me out of the cave.

Our fingers interlace as we walk. Like I've said, his footsteps are so loud, I'm sure anyone within a mile radius of us could hear us coming. Thank goodness we aren't trying to hunt. I'd never catch anything with him in tow. "You are so ridiculously loud." I say, thinking out loud. He just chuckles and pulls me closer. I pull myself out of his grip and begin picking berries off of a bush nearby.

"I can be quiet when I need to be." He says proudly, but I just giggle at him, thinking that he could never be quiet with those big, stomping feet of his. "What? You don't believe me?" He stops picking berries off of a bush near me and looks at me, a spark of mischief in his eyes. "Fine. Close your eyes and count to twenty. Then try to find me."

"We're supposed to be getting food, not playing hide and seek." I try to be serious, but Cato is taking none of it. He is in a playful mood and there's nothing I can say to get him out of it.

"Loosen up a bit! Just for a few minutes. Once you find me, we can go back to berry picking." He laughs, kissing my forehead and looking expectantly at me. I roll my eyes and sigh dramatically before closing them. I hear him stomping off to my left and shake my head. This will be so easy. We'll be back to picking berries in no time.

I take my time counting to twenty, giving him plenty of time to hide. When I open my eyes, I walk right in the direction I heard him walking. Of course, he could have already run a huge circle around me and ended up on the opposite side of me, but I'm pretty sure I would have heard that. So I walk silently, hoping to sneak up on him. But as I walk, I hear no sign of him. He's probably standing still, but even doing that, he usually makes noise. Not that he's ever needed to be quiet in his entire life. He trained to be a killing machine, not to hide from his opponents.

I can't see much in the darkness and my eyes are as adjusted as they're going to get. I search for his figure in the dark, but see nothing. I begin to worry, wondering where he could have gone. I'm about to turn back and head the other way when I hear a twig snap. I turn quickly, but it's too late. He's scooped me up in his arms and is laughing at the squeak that makes its way out of my mouth before I even have a chance to realize what had happened.

"I told you I could be quiet! I followed you all the way out here." There's a cocky grin on his face and I slap his arm playfully.

"Put me down." I pout, but he shakes his head. "Please!" But still, he shakes his head. "Where are we going?" I ask, realizing we aren't walking back towards the cave and the berries that I had been picking.

"You'll see." He says plainly, still carrying me. I sigh and relax, knowing I can't get out of his grip until he puts me down himself. "So, will you admit that I do know how to be quiet?" I shake my head no and he laughs again, continuing his pace. After a few minutes of walking, he sets me down. I look around and see nothing but the woods we've been surrounded by all night.

I look at him quizzically and he offers no reasoning to taking me here. "What exactly are we doing out here?"

"I don't know." He smiles sheepishly at me and shrugs. "I just figured you'd shut up if you thought we were going somewhere." I roll my eyes at him and he grins wider. "It worked." I playfully slap his arm and he grabs my hand before I have a chance to pull it away.

He uses his grip on me to pull me closer to him. I give in, letting him pull me into his arms. He wraps his arms around me with ease, and rests his chin on my head. "I'm really worried, Katniss."

"I am too." I mutter into his shirt, trying to focus on anything other than his enticing scent. Even in the warmth of the night, his body heat draws me in.

"I don't know what I will do if they were bombed." He says in a hushed voice, and I pull him closer to me. "Until I met you, my mother and father and Briar and Ryker were the only people who had ever cared about me. They were the only people I ever cared about. I can't lose them." I nod, knowing exactly what he means. But I say nothing, letting him pour out his feelings for once. "Back in 2, nothing was more important than training for the games. But my family still managed to care about each other. We were different. And now—" I cut him off with a kiss.

"And now they're probably worried sick about us. Or maybe Gale has reached them already and they're anxious to see you again." I try as hard as I can to make my voice sound convincing, even though I'm worrying just as much as he is about our families.

"You are so bad at cheering people up. You know that, right?" He grins at me and leans down for another kiss. I try to avoid his lips, but they still manage to find mine with ease. I sigh into his kiss, giving up on trying to pout.

"I tried. That should count for something." I shrug when our lips part. He pulls me back against his body and sighs.

"You did try. And I love you for that. But I know you're worried about them too." I nod my head, trying not to think of the horrible images that keep trying to flash through my mind. He pulls me away from him so that we can make eye contact. His piercing blue eyes look right into mine and I melt a little. "We'll get through this together, whatever happens." His words assure me, and I smile at him.

"We will." I say as I stand on my toes, letting my lips meet his again. Our kiss starts out soft, but before I know it, there's hunger between our lips. He holds me tighter, which I'm thankful for since my legs seem to want to give out on me. His legs seem wobbly as well, and we fall to the ground without breaking apart.

He chuckles as he pulls me closer to him. "Whoops." I laugh at him as I pluck a leaf out of his hair. I can't help but feel relieved that we are no longer talking about the fate of our loved ones. In all honesty, I don't want to think about them anymore. It's killing me inside, not knowing. So I focus on the boy in front of me, with leaves all over him. I lean in to kiss him again, but a sound off in the distance makes the hair on the back of my neck stand up.

Cato hears it too, and we freeze, trying to strain our ears to hear more. There's coughing, along with staggering footsteps. I jump to my feet silently, and am surprised when Cato does the same. I recognize the cough as it comes closer, and I run for him, followed closely by Cato.

In the dim light cast by the moon, I see Gale. His skin sparkles in the light, and I can see a mixture of blood with sweat. I rush to his side just as he realizes we're there. He begins to fight against my grip, until he realizes who I am. And then he collapses against me. Cato has to help me, but we lead him quickly back to our cave, looking around us to make sure we're alone.

Thoughts run through my mind faster than I can even absorb them. Who did this to Gale? Are they watching him? Did he find the rest of the bunker? Was there anything left to find? I shudder as we make our way into the cave.

There's scuffling, and Haymitch, Madge and Effie are at our sides in an instant. There's terror in their eyes, and as the moonlight hits him, I realize why. There's a large wound on his torso. As we lay him down on the bedding, I rip his shirt off as carefully as I can. Madge uses the tatters that used to be his shirt to soak up water for him. She comes back quickly, placing the cool water on Gale's burning forehead.

Cato takes off his shirt, also soaking it in water. He hands it to me and I begin to clear off the blood from Gale's torso. When I clean enough of his skin to see the actual cut, my blood runs cold. It's much too deep. I can't fix anything like that. Especially without any sort of medicine or bandages.

I freeze for what seems like hours, just staring at the gaping wound. But Haymitch pushes me out of the way. Effie leads me to a wall and forces me to sit down. She tries to give me water, but I push her away, not wanting to take my eyes off of the scene in front of me.

Haymitch is barking orders to Cato, who keeps running in and out of the cave. I know I should worry about the people that did this to Gale being out there, waiting for Cato. But I just can't. I can't think of anything other than Gale. I'm numb. Each time Cato comes back into the cave, he glances at me before returning to Haymitch's side.

I notice that Madge is doing surprisingly well. She keeps filling the shirts with water and bringing them back to Gale, who is now waking up. He fights their hold without success. Haymitch yells at him to stay still, and he does. Madge squeezes some of the water out of a shirt into his mouth. He drinks it willingly, and grabs onto her hand. She spends the rest of the night by his side, his hand in hers.

After what seems like forever, Haymitch is finished. He motions for me to come take his spot and I do. Gale is unconscious again, and my heart breaks. There's pain in his face and I wish there was some way to make it go away. I wish I had paid attention all those times my mother and Prim had healed the bloody and broken people of District 12 on our kitchen table.

I study Gale's body, noticing that there are a few smaller scratches on his torso and face. The large wound is now covered in some sort of moss, I think. Haymitch nudges me out of the way for a minute so he can wrap up Gale. No one says anything for a long time. Cato comes and sits next to me, and I lean into him, grabbing Gale's free hand in mine.

I remember Peeta's bad wound from the games, the one Cato had given him for saving me when we all had tracker jacker venom running through us. It was deep, probably deeper than Gale's. But it got infected so quickly. He got blood poisoning much too fast. I worry about Gale, knowing that without a healer or even some medicine, he won't last too long. I shudder, remembering how much pain Peeta had been in before I had retrieved the medicine for him.

I watch through the hole in our cave as the moon makes its way across the sky, making room for the rising sun. My eyes are burning, and I realize I didn't sleep a wink. I look around the room, noting that Madge is the only other person awake with me. She doesn't seem to notice my gaze, but I still look away quickly.

Cato, who is still sitting next to me, is quietly snoring in my ear. I look him up and down, seeing Gale's blood all over him. I look at my own hands and see that I also have dried blood on me. My hand is still holding tightly onto Gale's, which is why I notice him stirring.


	3. Chapter 3

**A/N: Thanks for all of the love! You are all so awesome! Sorry again for the long delay between Chapter 1 and 2! Everything was against me updating! But I promise that will not happen anymore! I'm going to try to get back into the rhythm of updating daily, but it might take a while! I have school and work and more work, but things should start calming down within a few weeks and I'll be popping out chapters quicker than Octomom pops out babies! (Bahahaha… that was clever of me!) Anyways, enjoy this chapter! And as always, I LOVE LOVE LOVE getting all these amazing reviews from you all, so don't stop! They make my day!**

**P.S. I start my externship on Monday! Woot woot! Wish me luck! I need a good letter of recommendation from this hospital so I can get a good job when I move! Be proud of me, I'm finally joining the real world and working on getting a non-minimum wage job! Score!**

**Chapter 3**

Gale looks up at me and smiles weakly. "Katniss. I thought I was dreaming." I turn all the way towards him, which ends up waking Cato. Madge has already turned towards him as well and is listening intently., her eyes searching his face as if to make sure he isn't in pain.

"Gale, what happened?" I ask quietly, as if raising my voice would physically harm him. I can see the pain in his eyes, and it makes me want to cry. I have never seen Gale hurt before, and I realize that it breaks my heart seeing him like this. I shouldn't have let him go alone. If I was with him, maybe he wouldn't have gotten hurt.

"The Capitol. They got them." My heart drops. He must be delirious. I mean, I had assumed they were all dead, but this might be worse. The Capitol has its own form of torture, which is worse than I can even imagine. The technology they hold in their hands can be life shattering. I can sense everyone else tense as they process what he's just said.

"What do you mean?" I ask urgently, but he's already closing his eyes again. I shake his hand. "Gale. Stay with me! What do you mean, the Capitol got them?"

His eyes flutter a few times before they shut again. I try to shake him, but Cato grabs my shoulders to stop me. I turn to him and glare. He ignores the heat in my eyes and pulls me away from Gale, taking me in his strong arms. I try to fight back but I'm too weak. Instead, I just collapse into his arms and he lowers me onto the floor, still encasing me.

I want to know what Gale meant. How did the Capitol just come and take a whole bunker full of people? And how did they find out about the hiding place? I need to question Gale for these answers, but right now, Cato won't let me out of his grip.

I turn my face up towards him and shoot him another glare. "Gale is the only one with the answers. We need to get the answers." I plead, tears filling up my eyes. I expect him to feel the same way I do, wanting the answers so badly that it brings him to tears as well, but he just shakes his head at me.

"I know, Katniss. But right now he needs to rest." I search his eyes, wondering how he can be so calm after what Gale just said. The Capitol took _his_ family too!

"But what if we can help them? What if we wait too long and then can't do anything to save them?" I ask again, my heart dropping as I think of what the Capitol could be doing to them, if they're even alive still.

"We won't know. And we can't push Gale either. He needs to rest so he can get better. We'll need him with us if we're going to rescue anyone." I shake my head, not wanting to give in. I just want to know the answers to my questions. I need to know if they are dead. I need to know if they are being tortured by the Capitol as we speak. I need to know these things so that I don't go insane.

I shake hard, and Cato tightens his grip on me. He's trying to soothe me and whispers calming things into my ear but I don't pay attention. I just stare ahead, letting my thoughts darken with the different scenarios that I think of. He rubs my back and the warmth of his touch reminds me of Prim. I begin to cry harder than I've ever cried before, knowing that she's either dead or being tortured. What makes it worse is that I would rather have her dead than be in the hands of the Capitol.

It seems like hours before Gale stirs again. As soon as I hear him moving, I peel myself out of Cato's arms, which have been surrounding me the entire time. I slip right next to him. His eyes are still closed, but he's waking up.

"Gale." I almost whisper, afraid that if I speak too loudly, he might pass out again. I need answers. I feel like a horrible human being, wanting him to be awake and suffering just to ease my own worries, but I will go crazy if I don't get the information I need. I can't handle not knowing what is happening to Prim. Or any of the people from the bunker for that matter. I've come to know a lot of them fairly well and thinking of a single one of them being hurt makes my blood run cold.

"Catnip." He gives me another weak grin, but stops when he sees the pain on my face. His eyes begin to close again, but he fights it this time. He fights the pain long enough to begin talking again. "The Capitol…"

"They got them. What do you mean, the Capitol _got_ them?" I say a little more forcefully than I meant to. Cutting him off was probably a little rude as well, but I don't have the time to wait for him to pass out again and then wake up and repeat himself over and over. I need answers.

He shudders, as if not wanting to remember. "I saw them. They were being boarded onto a Capitol hovercraft when I arrived. I didn't realize until it was too late. Someone spotted me. But I got away. I ran around in circles to throw them off my path and I had to wait for them to leave to head back here."

He tries to sit up, but Madge pushes him back down. He turns and gives her a look, but stays down. Effie rushes to his side with water and he drinks it too quickly, coughing a little and seizing in pain as his wound moves with his coughing. Madge tries to give him berries, but he shakes his head at her.

He seems a lot more coherent than before, so I begin to ask more questions, ignoring Cato's hand on my back, warning me to go easy on Gale. "How did the Capitol figure out where they were hiding?"

"I have no idea. Only a few of us knew. None of the people knew about it until we actually took them there, and I'm not even sure half of them could find it on their own even after being led there. The only thing I can think of is that we had a rat in our midst. He must have had a Capitol tracker on him or something. I don't know." He narrows his eyes, angry with himself for not knowing who it was and for putting all of those people in danger. I want to tell him that none of this is his fault, but I stop myself. I need more information out of him first, and I know Gale isn't the type of guy who likes to be comforted anyways.

"Do you have any idea who it could have been?" I ask, and I instantly feel guilty as I see him wince.

"No. Not at all. But I bet Coin has something to do with it." Anger rises in my gut. Of course she would have something to do with it. And although Brose went through so many precautions to keep our bunker's location secret, there are many ways she could have found out about it. Gale is probably right about the tracker. I'm clenching my fists so hard that my knuckles are turning white, but I don't care.

"I'm sure she does." I agree, my voice dropping. "So how do we help them?" I ask to no one in particular, knowing I shouldn't force Gale to come up with an answer for this, especially in his state.

"We'll discuss that as soon as Gale gets better." Haymitch says from over my shoulder. I sigh, knowing he's right. We can't go on a rescue mission with someone as injured as Gale. Especially since that someone has been trained by the enemy. We need his expertise. I reach out and grab Gale's hand, giving it a light squeeze.

"He's right. You should get some rest." I give him a half-hearted smile and release my hold on his hand, backing away. Madge then forces him to eat some of the berries and drink more water before he passes out.

Haymitch pulls me over to where he and Effie are sitting, and Cato follows. Once we're all sitting, Haymitch speaks, glancing towards Gale to make sure his voice doesn't disturb him. "We need to move. The Capitol will know that we are out here and they won't stop until they find us."

"But where will we go? And how do you expect us to get there with Gale in this condition?" I wonder, although I know he is absolutely right. Even though Gale said that he ran them in circles and then waited until they left to come find us, he most likely left quite a trail. In a healthy state, he could have led them on a wild goose chase without a chance of them ever finding him. But he lost a lot of blood, and when we found him, he was stumbling quite a bit.

"I'm working on it. We'll stay here for the day. It isn't safe for us to be out in the open in the daylight. But we need to be gone by tomorrow night." Haymitch states, deep in thought.

"I'll go and try to cover our footprints so they don't find us in the morning." I get up and Cato begins to follow me but I stop him. "I promise I'll be quick. I need to gather some more food as well, so that we don't have to be outside in the day light. It will just be easier if I go alone." I say, but he grabs my arm.

"What if they are still out there?" He asks in a hushed tone, not wanting to worry the others.

"I'm quick. And I can climb a tree if I see them. You can't climb trees very well, if I remember correctly. Don't worry, I won't let them find me, I promise." I kiss his cheek and he sighs, releasing his grip on my arm. I look over at Haymitch, who nods at me.

As I step out into the night, I feel exposed. I don't feel safe, knowing the Capitol could have their military running these woods right this moment. I shudder as I get to work, smoothing out the ground where Cato and I half dragged, half carried Gale back to the cave. There are blood smears on the trees, and I use my shirt to wipe most of it off. Hopefully the rest will seep in before morning, leaving no trace behind. I glance up at the sky and note that it will be morning soon, and that I need to speed this up so that I don't endanger myself and the rest of us.

Then I quickly make my way back, picking as much food as I can find without making it obvious that the bushes have been harvested. But I do grab a lot of food, knowing that there are 6 mouths to feed, and we'll be stuck in that cave until the sun goes down tonight. When I'm content with the amount of food I've gathered, I hurry back towards the cave, making sure I keep an ear out for any noises that aren't from nature.

I hear nothing, and when I reach the opening of the cave, I let out a breath of relief. I note that the mouth of the cave makes it look like a pile of rocks from the outside. Hopefully the Capitol will think that as well. I slip inside and am greeted by Effie, who I almost bump into.

"Sorry!" She whispers, smiling at me. "I have to do _business_." She shrugs and I let her scoot past me, but not before calling back to her.

"Just be careful not to disturb any of the surroundings and don't go far." I feel like I'm lecturing her, which is almost comical. But I don't want Effie to get caught, or to risk any chance of us getting caught. I almost volunteer to go with her, but I know she would object.

I reach the back of the cave and set down the food in a pile near the water. Gale is sleeping again, and Madge is still wide awake next to him, holding onto his hand like it's the only thing keeping him alive. Haymitch and Cato are discussing something quietly in the far corner, and I'm about to go join them when they both stop and look at me.

Cato smiles at me and stands up, making his way across the cave to join me. I glance up and notice that it's almost dawn. I'm about to suggest we go out and find Effie, but she's back in the cave before Cato even reaches me. She walks right over to Haymitch and whispers something to him. He nods, and they join Madge on the floor, nestling into the bedding.

"You should get some sleep." Cato says to me, noticing that I'm watching everyone else fall asleep.

"I'm fine. I think I'm just going to stay up for a while. You know, to sit guard." I mutter, still watching them. My eye lids are getting heavy, but there is so much going on in my mind right now. I'll never sleep. And if I do, I'm sure to wake up screaming. And waking up screaming is not a good thing to do while hiding from the Capitol.

"You look awful. You need to sleep." I glare at Cato, upset by his insult. But he just looks at me wearily before tugging on my arm, leading me towards Gale's side. "We could all use some sleep. Just for a couple of hours."

He forces me to lay down between him and Gale. But as soon as my head reaches the bedding, I realize that there's no way I'm going to stay awake. My eyelids droop even more, and I try to get up, but Cato wraps his arms around me, pulling me into his body. I sigh in defeat and within seconds, my eyes are shut and I'm fast asleep.

I can hear screaming. It sounds like Prim's. So I run through the woods as fast as my legs will let me. I'm back at the bunker. Or at least, what was left of the bunker. The waterfall is no longer there. Neither is most of the lake. In place of all the landmarks I had become accustomed to, there is a large crater in the earth. I walk to the edge, and my blood runs cold. Prim is laying at the bottom of the crater. It looks like she's miles away from me. But I can hear her screams as if she's right next to me. I look around the walls of the crater, trying to figure out how to get down there to save her. And then I hear a cackle behind me. I turn and come face to face with Coin. She's laughing at me, at the fact that I can't save my sister. I glare at her, and am about to throw a punch when she shoves me backwards. I fall for what seems like forever, and I'm about to hit the ground…

"Katniss!" Someone is shaking me awake. I realize I'm covered in sweat. I turn and my eyes meet with Cato's beautiful blue eyes. He pulls me in tightly. "It's okay, baby. It was just a bad dream." But I'm shaking.

"I didn't scream, did I?" I ask quickly, noticing the day light shining into the cave.

"No. You just…" I look up at him and he grins at me.

"I just what?" I ask, giving him a strange look.

"You kind of scratched me." He says, gesturing at his back. I lean over him and force him down so that I can see his back. I lift up his shirt, which still had Gale's blood stained onto it, and notice four fierce claw marks down one side of his shoulder. I pull him back up towards me and look at him guiltily.

"I'm so sorry!" I say, mortified that I hurt him. But he just shakes his head.

"It's fine, really. It didn't even hurt. It just kind of surprised me." He grins at me and I roll my eyes at him before snuggling closer to him.

"At least I didn't scream." I mutter into his chest, shuddering as I think of what could have happened if I had screamed and the Capitol had found us. I hear stirring in the cave and roll over, coming eye to eye with Gale.

I prop up on my elbow and give him a little smile. "How are you feeling?"

"Better. I'm hungry now." He rubs his stomach and I smile, glad that he's willing to eat now. That's a good sign. Maybe I underestimated Haymitch. I jump up and pick through the food I brought back last night. I pick out a few different things, hoping Gale will eat it all and I get him some water. He's sitting up when I make my way back over to him.

"Catnip, I can't eat all of that." He glances down at the mountain of food in my arms and I shrug. Cato takes Gale's comment as an invitation to dig in. I give him a dirty look, but he doesn't seem to notice. Gale picks through the food and settles on some more berries. I sigh, realizing his appetite is nowhere near what it usually is. He isn't as well as I would like him to be.

Madge stirs, as if just realizing that Gale is no longer sleeping next to her. She rubs her eyes before turning to Gale.

"How are you feeling? Are you sure you should be sitting up? Do you need any more water?" Madge starts shooting questions at Gale and I see the smile spread across his face. I can feel a smile spreading across my own as I watch them. She seems genuinely concerned for him, and for some reason, it's actually a pretty funny sight.

"Madge, it's okay. I'm doing better. And Katniss just brought me some water, so I'm okay for now." He hands her some sprouts that I found and she shakes her head at him. "Eat. I already had my fill of berries." He pats his stomach and she sighs, taking the food out of his hand and slowly munching on it.

Haymitch and Effie both begin to stir from the voices echoing in the cave. I begin to wonder if we're being too loud, and Gale seems to sense that I've tensed up.

"Don't worry so much, Katniss. We'll be fine." He places his hand on mine and I give him a half-hearted smile. How is it that the guy who has a huge gash in his side can be more optimistic than me? I shake my head and turn to Cato, who has a mouth full of food. I scoot closer to him, making sure I'm out of earshot from the rest of them.

"Gale needs medicine." There's an edge to my voice, and Cato picks up on it almost instantly.

"Katniss, you can't go back to the bunker. It's gone." He says, glancing over my shoulder to make sure that our conversation is still going unheard. "Besides, what if the Capitol is keeping an eye on the bunker in case something like this happens? There's no way we can go there, get the medicine if it's even still there, and get back here unnoticed. I'm sure the Capitol is patrolling these woods now that they know at least Gale is out here. Hell, we're going to have a hard enough time moving tonight. Our best option is to stay put."

"I can't watch Gale die. I need to go get him that medicine." I say stubbornly, ignoring how true his words ring. I know how dangerous this could be, but I can't let Gale suffer. And with Gale injured, it also puts the rest of our lives at risk too.

"What are you talking about? Gale looks much better than he did last night. Give Haymitch some credit, he did a good job. And the cut wasn't as deep as it looked. He'll probably be fine with a few days' rest."

"You don't know that, Cato. It doesn't take much for a wound like that to get infected. Don't you remember when we were in training for the games, Atala warned us all that infection will kill most of us? It's a real possibility, regardless of how well he looks now." I shoot at him, although I hope I'm wrong.

He sighs, exasperated. "You aren't going alone." I smile at him before leaning forward to place my lips against his.

A berry hits the back of my head and bounces off. I turn to glare at the culprit and find that everyone is watching us. I wonder if they heard any of our conversation. But Haymitch grins at me, relieving that worry. "Get a room, would ya sweetheart? None of us wants to see that."

I roll my eyes at him before throwing the berry back at him. Of course, he dodges it in time and it hits Effie square in the forehead.

"My word, you two! I have never! How can you waste food in a time like this?" She glares at the two of us and we both crack smiles. Haymitch leans over and plucks the thrown berry off the ground and pops it into his mouth. Effie gives him a disgusted look, but he rubs his stomach as if that one berry was the best food he had ever had. "I swear, sometimes I think you're just a teenager in an old man's body!"

This gets Haymitch's attention, and he turns to glare at her. "Old man? Sweetheart, I'm barely older than you." He points a finger at her and she looks appalled, but instead of saying something back, she reaches towards the food to find something to fill her mouth.

And the rest of the day goes on just like that. Small talk and little squabbles. Gale speaks more, but still manages to sleep for most of the day. Haymitch assures Madge and me that it's good for him to sleep so much. He says something about how it helps his blood levels replenish or something bogus like that, which neither of us believes for a second.

Cato and Haymitch start a game that involves throwing berries into each other's mouths, but with little tricks like doing it backwards or bouncing it off the wall first. This keeps us entertained until we begin to get really involved in it and cheer a little too loud. It ends almost as quickly as it begins. I watch as the sky turns from midday to dusk. As it darkens, I begin to feel antsy.

I know Haymitch wants to talk about our plans to move, but I have my own agenda. I am going to that bunker to find medicine for Gale. We need him healthy if any of us wants a chance to survive. If Cato still wants to come with me, I'll let him. In all honesty, I'd feel more comfortable with him next to me. Especially if I come face to face with the Capitol. I'm sure I'd wish he was somewhere safe if that happened, but right now having him with me gives me piece of mind.

We eat the rest of the food that I've gathered, and I realize how spot on I was about the amount I gathered. None of us starved or even got too hungry throughout the day. As I'm mentally patting myself on the back, Haymitch is trying to get my attention. I blink and come back to reality.

"We better get to business. I think we should wait until a little after the sun completely sets before heading out. On our way to wherever we're headed, we can gather more food. And maybe—"

I cut him off. "But where exactly are we going? We can't just wander around in the middle of the night with no sort of destination. What if we walk in one direction all night and find no sort of shelter? Then we'd be completely exposed when the sun comes up."

"Try to be optimistic, would you? There's a whole forest out there full of shelters. We just have to find one." He looks at me sternly.

"I have a better idea. Why don't we go to a more familiar part of the woods?"

"If you're talking about the bunker, they bombed it, remember?" Haymitch shoots at me and I narrow my eyes at him.

"The Capitol was patrolling that area when I went there." Gale mumbles from his spot on the floor, not even opening his eyes.

"I'm not talking about the bunker. I'm talking about one of the underground caverns I found when I went exploring. It would be perfect. And the entrance is almost completely hidden. It would be perfect." I try to sell my idea, hoping they'll agree.

"What's the catch, sweetheart?" Haymitch narrows his eyes at me suspiciously. Damn! Of course he can't just accept this as a good plan. He has to dig.

"Well, I figured… since we're going that way, I could check out the bunker to see if the Capitol is still there…" I try to be as vague as possible, knowing that none of them will ever agree with this plan of mine. Except Cato. I already have him on my side. Now hopefully he'll back me up when they all start trying to talk me out of it.

"And what do you hope to achieve by going there to 'check it out'?" He asks, already knowing the answer.

"I'm going to look for medicine. For Gale." I turn to glare at Gale, daring him to say something to me. But my glare doesn't seem to phase him. He opens his eyes and pops up, meeting my glare with his own.

"No, you aren't."

"Yes I am, Gale. I'd like to see you try and stop me." I challenge.

"Catnip, I could stop you if I was missing an arm, a leg, and half my torso. So don't even go there. You don't even know if there is any medicine left there. Don't you remember listening to all those bombs drop?" Madge shudders, but Gale doesn't seem to notice his insensitivity. "There's probably a giant crater in the ground. Not to mention the hundreds of Peacekeepers I saw marching around there not too long ago."

"Are you finished with your lecture?" I ask calmly. I will not lose my temper right now. I'm trying to show them that this is a logical idea, and blowing up on the injured guy won't get me anywhere.

"No—" This time, Madge comes to my rescue.

She places her hand on his arm and he turns to look at her, as if only just now acknowledging her presence. "Gale, she's right. Who knows how your condition will be in a few days? You've lost a lot of blood. And you need medicine. What if the Capitol finds us when we switch shelters? You're too weak to fight. We need you strong." She looks into his eyes with so much emotion, I almost think something else is going on between them. And then, as if by magic, Gale hangs his head in defeat.


	4. Chapter 4

**A/N: I know, I suck! I promised I would pick up on the updating, and I've basically stopped. And I take back that promise with a new one: I WILL update as often as possible. The chapters might end up being a tiny bit shorter, but I just don't have the time to write 4000 word chapters as often as I did before. I kid you not, I haven't had time to do ANYTHING lately. I worked all day Saturday, came home and slept, woke up on Sunday and worked ALL day again, coming home just in time to watch True Blood and go right to sleep. Then on Monday, I had to be up at the butt crack of dawn for the start of my externship, worked all day, then drove two hours away to meet my cousin's fiancé for dinner. On our way home, there was an accident on the highway, and being the good person that I am, I had to stop. (Don't worry, everyone was fine. The worst injury was a concussion, and two little kids with broken hearts because their dog ran away in the middle of the accident and took off into the desert.) So we got home ridiculously late and I had to go straight to bed just to wake up a few hours later for my externship, followed by more work and then finally a movie with my sister in law and my mother. (Magic Mike was AH-MAZING! Second time I've seen it and I still can't get over those god-like bodies. **_**Except**_** I would have preferred less story line, more naked men.) And of course, Wednesday was the 4****th**** of July so I didn't have much time to update. ANYWAYS, here's the update! Sorry it took so long! I know, excuses are like buttholes, but mine were pretty legit. **

**P.S. I will be out of town from Sunday-Wednesday, so I wouldn't expect an update those days. I apologize, but I have to get my butt in gear if I'm ever going to move!**

**Chapter 4**

We watch the sky through the hole in the roof of our cave. Once the sun goes down, we wait until we feel it's safe to leave the cave. Except for the fact that none of us feels safe about leaving the cave at all, especially because of where we're heading. But still, we all stand up and make our way out of the cave. Madge and Haymitch help Gale, who is still too weak to make this journey on his own.

Because of his noisy scuffling, the three of them along with Effie, wait at the mouth of the cave while Cato and I step out into the cool air of the night, making sure the coast is clear. I shiver runs down my spine as I try to listen for any noise. I hear nothing other than Cato's breathing next to me, so I motion for the rest of them to follow us.

I'm not exactly sure where to head, since it was a few days ago that we ran from the bunker to the cave. But Gale quietly lets me know what direction to head, and we begin to make our way. I walk quickly, but realize that the rest of my group won't be able to keep up with me. I sigh and slow my pace. Cato laces his fingers with mine as he reaches me.

"Are you sure you want to do this? We can always just go to the cavern with the rest of them." There's a hint of something in his voice, but I can't quite place it. It sounds like fear, but I can't imagine Cato being afraid of much.

"Yes. Gale needs this medicine." I say firmly. He sighs and tightens his grip on me. We've walked pretty far when Gale finally tells us to stop. I turn to look at him quizzically, knowing we aren't quite close enough to the bunker.

"I can't go any further without getting you guys caught. I make way too much noise." He heaves, obviously tired from our journey.

"That's fine." I say in a more hushed voice than I meant to. "Cato and I will go to the bunker and get the medicine while you four head to the cavern. We'll be right behind you, I promise." Gale looks at me with uncertainty. Haymitch begins to object, but thankfully Effie steps in to save me.

"You're absolutely right, dear. We'll make sure the place is just as cozy as the last cave by the time you get there!" She smiles at me and I nod, silently thanking her. Haymitch grumbles something that I'm sure is offensive, but rolls his eyes.

I point them in the right direction and watch as they begin to make their way in a circle around the bunker to get to the cavern. As she passes me, Madge squeezes my arm and gives me a worried look. I give her a halfhearted smile, hoping it will ease her a little. But she just turns away from me, still holding up one side of Gale as Haymitch carries the other side. Effie scurries along after them, and I can still hear her fussing, even as their silhouettes disappear into the woods.

I take a deep breath and turn back to Cato. "Are you ready for this?" I ask as I wrap my arms around his waist and lean against his chest.

He wraps his arms around me and places his chin on my head. "Never. But promise me one thing. If the Capitol finds us—" He begins, but I stop him.

"No. The Capitol won't find us." I say sternly, backing up just enough to look him in the eyes.

"But _if_ they do, I want to be sure that you're safe." He says, his stare piercing right down to my soul.

"What do you mean?" I ask, narrowing my eyes at him.

"I mean, if they find us, you need to run. You need to hide. Don't worry about me." He says, releasing me from his arms so that he can grab my face.

"No. You're insane. I would never leave you." I say, shaking my head. He can't be asking me to do something like this. I could never leave him to fend off the Capitol alone. If the Capitol found us, I would be right by his side, fighting them off as best as we could.

"I am not insane. And you will leave. I would never forgive you for risking your safety to help me." He narrows his eyes to meet my stare.

"Then you'll just have to go on not forgiving me, because I will not leave you. If you and I have to face the Capitol, I'd rather face it with you than alone." I say, standing on my tip toes, allowing my lips to gently brush his. He sighs, shaking his head before allowing his lips to meet mine again. When we break apart, I take an extra moment before opening my eyes, not wanting this moment to end and the next one to begin. I know what we're about to do, and I know how dangerous it's going to be. But I also know that we have to do it for Gale.

So I open my eyes and take a deep breath, releasing my hold on Cato. He nods and we move silently, making sure to take extra notice of our surroundings. As we reach the edge where the forest used to meet the lake, we stop and wait. It's still dark, but the moonlight is bright enough to reflect off the lake and cast eerie shadows everywhere.

I shudder, and Cato notices, wrapping his arms around me. I lean into him for a second before shrugging him off. I need to focus, and having his body on mine is not helping me clear my mind enough to focus.

I stare out over what used to be the lake. In front of me is now a drying lake bed. Beyond it is a crater. There is so much debris everywhere, so I can't really tell how deep the craters are, or even how big they are.

I try to strain my eyes, looking for any sign of a person, Capitol or not. But it seems completely deserted. I don't trust it though. It's almost too quiet. Why would the Capitol just up and leave? Especially if they knew that there were still survivors running around in the forest.

Cato seems to sense my hesitation, also seeing that the scene ahead of us looks completely deserted. "This is almost too easy." He whispers into my ear. I just nod, not able to speak. We wait for what seems like hours before I decide to make a move. I head through the forest, making my way towards where the entrance of the cave used to be. Cato follows close behind, and just as silently as me.

When we finally reach the spot where I feel comfortable stepping out of our covering, I take one last look around me to make sure there is no one around. We move quickly and quietly, now out in the open. When we reach the edge of the crater, I gasp at the sight in front of me. I can hear Cato gasp next to me as well, and he reaches for my hand as if by instinct.

I blink a few times, as if this wreck in front of me will change. But it doesn't. We're still looking down a steep slope. I can see holes where the hallways used to be, but there isn't much else left. My eyes search for a way down, hoping that if I can just get to the bottom, I might find a way down to the infirmary. This crater isn't nearly deep enough to have reached it. At least, that's what it looks like from here.

Carefully, I walk around the edge, trying to find a place to start making my way down. I try to step down a few times, but the soft earth gives away under my feet. Finally, I find a good spot and begin my descent. Cato follows carefully after me, but eventually has to stop in an opening of a hallway. The path that I take is much too delicate for his large, heavy feet.

I turn to look at him, but he shakes his head at me in defeat. "Just be careful." He says and I nod, turning back to watch where I'm placing my feet. I'm sweating, and my head is starting to hurt from all the concentrating I'm doing. I reach the bottom and the ground levels out enough for me to walk normally.

I search through the debris, looking for any way to get underneath it to the rest of the bunker. Slowly but surely, I make my way around the disaster that had begun to become my home. My heart sinks a little as I remember lying in bed with Cato, eating in the cafeteria with our siblings, even spending time with Madge in her room.

I glance up at Cato every now and then and meet his stare. He's watching me intently, only looking away every now and then to make sure we're still alone. I finally spot a hole in the ground. I'm not sure where it will lead, but I take a deep breath and drop myself into it, turning to take one last look of Cato before I plunge into the dark.


	5. Chapter 5

**A/N: Surprise! I had time to update today! Which is insane. I should be asleep after working all day at two different jobs! But I really want to sleep in tomorrow and the only way to do that is staying up late! So here I am! Watching 90210 on Netflix and typing up more of this story! And I apologize in advance, but I probably will not update again until Tuesday night earliest. I'll be in beautiful, sunny San Diego, preparing for the big move! (40 days and counting!) Anyways, enjoy! (And again, sorry for the shortness of this chapter, and the last! I just want to give you something to read!) Love you all! **

**Chapter 5**

I take a deep breath, inhaling a bit of dust as my feet hit the ground. I can hear the echo from my footsteps and realize I must be in the spiral stairway. Except there is so much dirt, I can't really tell where I am. I begin to walk, avoiding debris and sticking close to the wall because the floor closer to the edge doesn't seem stable. The only light is coming from the hole that I dropped into which is spilling in the light of the beginning of dawn, and as I walk, it gets further and further away.

I begin to feel the earth closing in on me. I know it's only my imagination, but I can almost feel the roof sinking closer and closer to me. There's still a lot of dust in the air, and I can't help but cough a few times as I feel my lungs fill up with the dust.

The deeper I go, the tighter my chest gets. I can't help but think about my father, and Gale's too, and how they died underground, in a small cave deep in the earth, just like this. Not to mention the ground above me is ridiculously unstable. And the Capitol could come back at any moment and bomb this place again. Then I would surely die.

I contemplate turning around and running back towards Cato. I'm shaking so hard that I'm surprised I can even walk right. But I continue to make my way down. My path clears the further I go. There is still dirt everywhere, but it isn't as bad further down.

Once I can feel my feet straightening out on level ground, I feel for where the entrance of the infirmary was. I think about going towards the cafeteria too as my stomach growls. But then I remember that I'm in a dangerous situation and I should get out of here as quickly as possible.

I find the entrance to what I think is the infirmary. I stumble around in the darkness until I find a cart. I open each of the drawers quietly, as if any noise from me could cause everything to collapse on top of me. I stick myself on something in one of the drawers, but I don't have time to stop and see if I'm bleeding.

I keep searching, and am relieved when I feel my hand slip on top of a flashlight. I grab it and turn it on. At first, it's hard for my eyes to adjust to the light. But once they do, I get started on finding whatever medical supplies I think we'll need.

Of course, I'm not the healer in the family, so I have absolutely no idea what kind of medicine to get. I grab everything I can though; a bottle of each type of pill I can find, gauze in every shape and size, bandages to cover every inch of a person's body, and of course more pills. I stuff everything I find into a large bag that I find in one of the drawers. I fill another large bag with even more supplies. They aren't too heavy and I haven't wasted too much time in the infirmary, so I grab yet another bag and make my way into the cafeteria.

Thankfully, the flashlight casts a nice beam of light in front of me, and I don't have to stumble around in the dark any longer. I make my way to the cafeteria quickly, and head behind the counter to see what kind of food I can scavenge for us. I hear a noise behind me and whip around in time to see someone holding a pot above their head, ready to strike me. My blood runs cold and I look for some sort of weapon, and find that I have nothing to protect myself with.

"Katniss? Is that you?" I recognize the voice and my heart rate slows down to normal.

"Sae? What are you doing in here?" I ask, shining the light onto the familiar face, which is covered in dust along with her clothes and her hair. She squints at the light as she lowers the pot, dropping it on the ground with a loud clang that makes me jump out of my skin. I look around, expecting the walls to cave in.

"I don't know. One minute, I'm preparing a meal for myself, and then next, the whole ground is shaking and all the lights go out. I called out for someone, anyone, but there wasn't a soul in the building anymore." My heart drops, and I feel guilty. How did we forget to evacuate Greasy Sae? If she slipped through Gale's evacuation plan, who else could have still been in here when the bombs hit? I shudder, hoping that she's the only one who was here. I wonder if we should check out the rest of the bunker that is still standing, but have to stop myself. As guilty as it makes me feel, I don't want to walk into a room and find a decaying body just lying there. I've seen horrible things, but right now I don't think I could handle anything like that.

"Well, we're going to get out of here now, okay? I just need you to help me carry some stuff out. We'll need some food. Anything that will hold up pretty well. We've been living off of berries and whatever greens I've been able to find." I say as I toss her an empty bag and begin filling up my own. As I sort through cans, I try to keep the clinging to a minimum, still worried that noise will bring down the roof.

"We?" She asks, hope in her voice.

"Me, Cato, Gale, Madge, Haymitch and Effie." I state, busy reading labels and shoving cans into my bag as quickly as possible.

"Oh." Her voice drops. I know she was hoping everyone had made it out with us, and I feel another pang of guilt, knowing that even though she got left behind, she didn't want anyone else to be in her position as well. It almost makes me smile, knowing that this woman who I've known for most of my life is a lot more caring than she ever let on.

"Everyone else made it out too. Before us, even. But we had to hide out somewhere else, just in case the Capitol saw us." I spit out, trying to give her false hope. I feel guilty, but this poor woman needs hope, especially after being abandoned when the rest of the bunker was evacuated.

She seems to accept my explanation and begins filling her bag with foods as well. When we've stuffed our bags to the rim, I hand her one of my bags filled with medical supplies and we make our way up the spiral hallway. Once I can see light, I pick up my pace. Greasy Sae keeps up as best as she can, but I can hear her grumble something as I break out into a run.

I reach the hole and pull myself out, breathing in the fresh air with relief. Early morning light blinds me for a second, and I have to blink a few times before I can adjust to the light. I'm a little worried that it is now light enough to be spotted easily, but thankfully I note that I spent less time in there than I thought.

I look up and see Cato, still perched in his same spot, although he has moved mostly out of view. When he spots me, he stands up and I can see the grin on his face. I wait a few minutes for Greasy Sae to throw the bags up, and then I pull her up as well.

We have to move slower than I would like up the side of the crater, as Greasy Sae is a little too heavy for the delicate walls. But eventually, we make it back up to Cato. He wraps me in his arms and plants a kiss on my now dirty forehead. But he doesn't seem to notice. Greasy Sae grunts and he lets go of me to take the bags out of her hand.

He gives me a look, questioning where she came from, but says nothing out loud. Instead, we make our way out of the crater and back into the safe cover of the woods. There, we relax a little more, although never letting our guards down.

I take the lead, knowing the quickest way to get to the cavern. I wonder if the others have made it there already. And then I begin to wonder where Gale had everyone else hiding out. It has to be close to here for all of those people to make it to in such a short amount of time.

I look around for any sign of a large group of people, but find nothing. Gale is good, I think to myself as I shake my head. How in the world did the Capitol find them when I can see absolutely no trace of where they've gone? I honestly cannot wrap my mind around how the Capitol could have found them when someone like me, who has been in the woods most of my life and can find the trail of an animal as small as a squirrel, but can't find the trail of over a hundred people?

We reach the cavern and I can hear Effie's shrill laugh from the entrance of the cavern, which is just as hidden as I had remembered. I usher Greasy Sae in and try to get Cato to follow her, but he insists on letting me go in before him.

Effie's laughter stops as they hear us shuffling down into the cavern. When we make it into the actual room of it, Haymitch stands to greet us.

"Well it's about damn time." He says as he claps Cato on the back and grabs one of the bags out of his hand. He opens it and a smile forms on his face as he pulls out a can. "You brought food, too? Good girl, sweetheart! And where did you find this one?" He gestures towards Greasy Sae as he opens the can.

"She was down in the bunker when the bombs hit." I say as I drop my bags, looking around him to find Gale asleep on the floor with his head in Madge's lap. They must have gathered some underbrush on their way over, because the floor is covered in a decent amount of it.

I also notice that they've gathered a sorry amount of berries, some of which I hardly recognize. "You guys didn't eat those berries, did you?" I ask, alarmed.

"Of course not, sweetheart. We were waiting on you to tell us if they were safe or not." Haymitch snorts between slurps of whatever was in that can. He holds up another can for Effie and she gladly accepts.

I take a can and squat down to give it to Madge. She tries to shake her head, rejecting the food, but I won't let her. I open it and hand it to her. She reluctantly lets go of Gale's hand, but doesn't take her other hand off of his chest. She takes the can and uses one hand to raise it to her mouth, turning her glance back to Gale's sleeping face.

I follow her glance and my heart drops. He looks worse than before. His skin is much paler than it should be, and he is breaking out in a sweat. I can almost feel the heat radiating off of him. I take a deep breath and brace myself as I lift up his shirt.

I notice that he's bled right through the moss that Haymitch put over his wound. I take the moss off without really thinking about it, and he grimaces a little in his sleep, but thankfully doesn't wake up. I take a deep breath and look closely at his wound. It doesn't seem to have gotten too much worse, but it's still bleeding, which can't be good.

I look up at Haymitch, expecting him to have an answer. But he just looks at me and shrugs. "That's as best as I can do, sweetheart. I know how to fix a wound for a little while with natural things, but not with actual medical things." He eyes the bag of medical supplies at my feet.

Cato steps up and nudges me out of the way. I look at him in awe. "You know how to fix this?" I ask, unable to hide my surprise.

"Enough." He shrugs. "Back home during training, all of us got all sorts of wounds and I've seen enough of the stitching up to be able to fix this. I've even seen worse." He says as he sorts through the bag. He pulls out a packet with a needle and some sort of thread in it, along with some sort of pills, alcohol wipes and gauze.

I watch in horror as he begins to clean the wound. Gale wakes up because of the pain, but Cato quickly hands him the pills and Gale swallows them with the water that Madge gives him. He closes his eyes again and nods towards Cato to continue.

Cato nods back in understanding and begins to do his thing. After sterilizing the wound, he begins to get the needle ready. I shrink back a little, trying to look away as he sticks the needle through Gale's skin, stitching him up. I have to admit, his stitches look a lot more uniform than I expected them to be.

I glance up at Gale every now and then through the entire procedure, watching as he clenches his teeth in pain. I wonder when the pill is going to kick in, but I'm afraid to distract Cato. He seems to be deep in thought right now.

The cavern is completely silent, except for our heavy breathing and an occasional grunt from Gale. I glance around the room and see the concentrating stares coming from the rest of the group. Even Effie is staring at Cato's hands, watching as he heals Gale.

Finally, he's finished. He gives Gale one more pill, and Gale takes it willingly. He closes his eyes and he's fast asleep once again, as if the past hour or so had never happened. I stare at him in disbelief. I'm pretty sure if I was in his position, I would be freaking out, screaming in pain, even after Cato had finished. But Gale stayed calm through it, and fell asleep like none if it had happened. I have to sit back and admire the strength of my friend.


	6. Chapter 6

**A/N: I am SO sorry for making you all wait so long! I have just been so ridiculously busy, I haven't had any time to write! Only two more weeks until I move and I have to get everything ready! Anyways, this chapter is SUPER short, but I wanted to post something for you all! You are all just so dang amazing! I hope you enjoy this itty bitty little chapter! More will come! **

**P.S. I am also almost done with the next chapter of my other fanfic! That will probably be posted tomorrow.**

**Chapter 6**

I fall asleep easily in Cato's arms, thankful to have him by my side, and also thankful that Gale's wounds are finally being taken care of properly. I wake up a few times in the middle of the night, worrying about him. But in the dim light of our cave, I can see that he is sleeping soundly next to Madge. I smile to myself before settling back down next to Cato.

We're woken up with a loud explosion coming from somewhere not too far from our new hideout. I jump up quickly, as does Cato and Haymitch. Effie shrinks back against the wall, as if somehow that will save her. Gale tries to get up, but Madge stops him, burying her head in his chest. Greasy Sae seemed to have slept through it, and is still snoring away in the far corner of the cave. We're silent and I know exactly where the Capitol has just dropped their bomb.

They must have been watching when we went to the bunker. There's no other explanation for them bombing it now. Especially since they did a good job the first time. I thought we were being so careful, but they must have seen us. My blood runs cold as I realize that they probably know where we are right now.

I look towards the cowering Effie, who Haymitch is trying to comfort. I glance over at Gale, who is still obviously weak from his wounds, trying hard not to flinch when Madge wraps her arms around him. I know what I have to do. I avoid making eye contact with Cato because I know he'll know what I'm planning and try to stop me. But I can't let him do that. I need to distract the Capitol.

Greasy Sae wakes up, and we all eat in silence.

"Why so gloomy?" Greasy Sae asks us, obviously uncomfortable with the lack of conversation this morning.

"The Capitol dropped another bomb this morning. On the bunker." Haymitch says quietly, which makes me almost choke. I hadn't thought that everyone else would know where the bomb hit. I was hoping that I could just sneak out and no one would have any idea what my real agenda was.

As soon as Haymitch says this, Cato looks at me. I can feel his stare burning into the side of my face, but I refuse to look at him. He grabs my arm and pulls me up.

"Hey! What do you think you're doing?" I hiss at him as he pulls us further into the cavern, away from the rest of them.

"You are stupid, you know that?" He spits at me, anger in his eyes.

"Gee, thanks." I mutter, rolling my eyes at him.

"I'm serious, Katniss. You are out of your mind if you think I'm going to let you do what I know you're thinking about doing." He grabs my other arm with his free hand and I feel like he is about to shake me.

"I don't know what you're talking about." I lie, avoiding eye contact with him.

"Just stop Katniss." Cato sighs, exasperated with me.

"Cato, I can't just sit here and wait for them to find us. They saw us yesterday and you know that. I can't let them find us. Gale is too weak to fight. None of them will survive if the Capitol finds us." Tears fill my eyes. I try to brush them away, but Cato still has a tight grip on my arms, making it impossible for me to move them.

"And what about me? You honestly thought I would just let you go out there alone? Do you know how miserable I would be, just imagining all the things the Capitol will do to you when they find you?" He releases his grip on my arm and instead places his hands on my face, forcing me to look up at him.

"I—I don't know." I try to lower my head, but he won't let me. He stares into my eyes, which are spilling tears down my cheeks and onto his hands.

"I'm going with you." I try to object, but he cuts me off. "It's my fault too. And I know you're going to go even if I try to talk you out of it. So I'm not going to talk you out of it. I'm going to come with you."

"No. You're going to stay and take care of them." I try to say, but I hear a grunt coming from behind me. I turn to see Haymitch standing a few feet away. He must have been listening the whole time.

"Sweetheart, we don't need this big meat head taking care of us." He looks at Cato apologetically. "No offense. And we don't need you running out there to distract the Capitol from finding us. If they watched you three walk here from the bunker, they've probably already got the place surrounded. It doesn't matter if you guys go out there alone or not. They'll end up coming in here anyways and finding the rest of us. There's no way out of this. We need to face this together."

He speaks in hushed tones, as if he doesn't want the others to know our new plan.

"Maybe we can lead them away from you, and then you guys can make a run for it." I suggest, but I already know that will never happen.

"Make a run for it? You're serious? Don't you remember how slow we had to go to get here? Gale is in no shape for making a run for it." Haymitch scoffs at me.

"Well, I don't see you coming up with any better ideas. Gale isn't in any shape to face the Capitol head on either." I spit back, angry that he shot down a suggestion I already knew wouldn't work.

"There isn't any other way to do this, Katniss. We're all going to be captured by the Capitol. It doesn't matter if you go out there and 'distract' them. They'll still find us."

"You can't just give up like that. There is a better way; there has to be. We just haven't thought it through yet." I insist, although I see his point. But I'll be damned if I don't try my hardest to keep these people safe from the Capitol.

"I'm not giving up. I'm just being logical. It's better if we all stick together." He tries to reason with me, but it just angers me that he's softening his tone of voice for me.

"He's right, Katniss." Cato says softly, placing his hand on my shoulder.

I turn back towards him and glare. "Thanks for taking my side." I mutter before turning back to Haymitch. I'm about to say something else to him when we hear screaming coming from behind Haymitch.

We run the few feet to the large cavern where only moments ago we were eating together just in time to see Effie being dragged out of the opening. The room is full of Peacekeepers, and I'm so shocked I can't even move to help anyone. They're ripping Gale and Madge apart. Blood curdling screams come from her and Gale shouts obscenities as he tries to fight the Peacekeepers off. But it's no use. Blood starts seeping through his shirt, and he's out of breath before he can even loosen their grip on him.

The Peacekeepers spot us, and before we have a chance to run, they reach us. I fight and scream and bite and kick, but it's no use. There are two Peacekeepers grabbing at me. They have guns and before I know it, I have a gun shoved into my back. I look over just in time to watch Cato slam a Peacekeeper into a wall. The Peacekeeper falls down to the ground in a slouchy pile. This just seems to piss off the rest of the Peacekeepers. One of them hits Cato in the head with the butt of his gun. Cato doesn't fall, but instead grabs the gun and rips it out of the Peacekeepers hand and uses it to knock the Peacekeeper out. He goes through two more Peacekeepers before they get smart and finally knock him out.

I watch in horror as they drag him out of the cavern. I'm right behind him, but I want to be by his side. I want him to wake up. But he isn't. And I'm becoming hysterical. Someone must get tired of my screaming, because before I know it, everything goes dark.


	7. Chapter 7

**A/N: I can never say sorry enough to make up for how long I've made you all wait for this chapter. I have tons of legitimate excuses, but none of them really matter anymore. I'm sure most of you will have to re-read at least the previous chapter, if not the entire series again just to figure out what is going on (I know I had to refresh my own mind after such a long break...) Hope this long wait hasn't given you ridiculously high expectations! Enjoy and leave me lots of reviews! (You can lecture me for not keeping up with this like I should be. I deserve it.)**

**P.S. That last ps I left on chapter 6 is now no longer true. Long story short, my computer got a fat virus and I lost everything (the 2 chapters I had on this fanfic, the one on my other fanfic, and a few chapters/notes for a new fanfic I really wanted to start).**

**Chapter 7**

My head is pounding. I try to get up off the cold, hard floor I'm laying on, but my head is too heavy. Instead, I open my eyes and wait for them to adjust to the darkness. I can hear noises surrounding me, and my heart stops as I remember what happened before I blacked out.

The Capitol has me. They have everyone I care about. They have my mother and Prim and Gale and his family and Cato and Madge and Haymitch and Effie and Greasy Sae. They took everyone in the bunker. They took everyone in the cave.

I sit up, trying to make sense of the noises I'm hearing, trying to recognize who these noises are coming from. I can hear sobbing somewhere near me and my heart races a little as I recognize who it is. _Madge_.

"Madge! It's Katniss!" I whisper, afraid of what the Capitol would do to her or me if they hear me.

The sobbing stops for a second. I hear a sniffle. "Katniss?" I hear scuffling as she moves closer to the wall between us.

"Are you hurt?" I ask her, leaning against the wall, feeling both comfort and pain knowing she's next to me.

"I-I don't think so. But Gale-" she starts sobbing again and it takes a few minutes for her to calm down. "-he was bleeding. He-he went limp a-and I-" The sobbing starts again and I wait patiently for her to calm down. I wish more than anything that this wall between us would vanish so I could comfort my friend. "I don't know if he's okay. They didn't bring him down here with me."

"Who else is down here with us?" I ask, wanting to know the fate of the others and needing a distraction from the thoughts on what they're doing to Gale.

"I-I didn't see. I didn't even know you were next to me. When they pulled us out of the cave, Gale and I ended up on a different hovercraft than you guys. I was so afraid. And then Gale-" She begins crying and I try to calm her down through the wall.

"It's okay Madge. We'll figure it out. Maybe they're giving Gale the medical attention he needs." As the lie slips out of my mouth, I realize that these words are anything but comforting.

Before I can think of how horrible Gale's fate could be,I hear a scoff coming from in front of me. A vaguely familiar voice speaks up, voicing their opinion. "You think they're fixing him up just so they can bring him down here with the rest of us to starve? Keep dreaming."

"President Snow?" I ask, shocked that he of all people would be down here.

"Ms. Everdeen. It's nice to know you're looking on the bright side of things, but I don't want you to get your hopes up. Or the hopes of Ms. Undersee." My blood runs cold as I hear my name come out of his mouth.

"What are you doing here?" I manage to spit out, a million different thoughts running through my head, none of them making any sense.

"All that matters is that I am here and that all of Panem is in trouble."

I can't help but scoff. Like he ever cared about the citizens of Panem. "You mean the Capitol citizens are in trouble, right? The rest of us have been suffering for ages already. This is nothing for us."

"I sense hostility in your voice, Ms. Everdeen. Must I remind you who you are speaking to?" His voice sounds almost bored rather than annoyed with my outburst. Of course, he didnt' deny anything I said. I'm about to open my mouth to say something else to him about how it really doesn't matter anymore who he is since it obviously didn't save him from the same fate as us, but Madge speaks up first.

"How long have you been here, President?" Her voice is steady and I'm almost shocked at how calmly she is speaking to him before I realize that she grew up around this horrible man and many others like him. Of course she knows how to talk to him.

"I have lost track of time, my dear. And I am very sorry for your loss. Your father was a great man." For some reason, this angers me more than anything else. He's sorry for _her_ loss? What about mine? What about Gale's? We lost our fathers because he sent them into a dangerous mine every day for pointless work that never paid enough to have us living comfortably. My father was a great man. And yet he died trying to provide for his family. Trying to keep us from starving. Where was President Snow when all of this happened? Where is my 'sorry for your loss' speach from him? I stay silent, not wanting to cry in front of this man, or to make Madge cry again.

Her father was a great man. I liked Mayor Undersee. He turned the other way for me and bought things illeagally from me, knowing full well it would help me feed my family.

"Thank you, sir." She replies quietly. I can hear her crying, but I say nothing to comfort her this time. There's nothing that I can say to make losing her parents not seem so bad. Instead, I scoot away from the wall to give her some privacy. I don't want to speak to Snow anymore.

Just thinking about my father has left me emotionally drained. I try to think of something else-something better-but instead, my thoughts stray to Cato. He hasn't spoken up, so I know he isn't down here. This worries me more than anything. At least down here, I know where he is. Sure, even Snow has given up on any sort of hope down here, but at least he isn't alone where the Capitol is doing who knows what to him. I shudder, triyng to think of something happy.

Prim

. I crawl over to where I heard Snow's voice coming from and feel for the cold, thick bars I know are there. When I find them, I use them to help me pull myself up. I stick my face up to them, allowing the cold to seep onto my cheeks before shouting her name.

"PRIM!"

It echos clearly down either side of the hallway that my cell is in. It takes a few moments before I hear a reply.

"Shhhh! Katniss! I'm okay. What are you trying to do? Get us all killed?" Her voice isn't far away, and I sigh in relief.

"Prim! How long have you been here? Where's Mom? Where's Ryker? And Briar? And the Hawthornes? Where is everyone?" I can't help but raise my voice a little, hoping that they are all down here with us or that they escaped.

"I-I don't know where Mom is. And I saw Ryker once after we came here. They must be further down the hallway." I open my mouth to shout their names, but Prim cuts me off. "But do not yell again. The guards are probably on their way right now to come and reprimand you for making noise. Now shhh."

I cannot believe my little sister just shushed me. Or that she hasn't seen anyone since they came here. I have so many more questions, but I know she won't answer me now if I ask. Instead, I slump down against the bars and listen to the steps making their way down the hallway towards me.

I am not afraid. I want them to come get me. I want to get another chance to attack them. I can do it this time. I can get out of here and save everyone else too.

"Back away from the door." A stern voice above my head speaks out in the darkness. I vaguely recognize it, but I just can't place the cold voice to anyone I have ever met. It is without emotion, without feeling-almost inhuman.

"What if I don't?" I ask defiantly. I can hear Madge gasp, but other than that everyone is silent.

"Don't make me hurt you." Still void of emotion, but closer. Chills run down my spine and I back up just a little. The door opens and I can feel someone grab my hair. I try to fight back, but another person who I hadn't heard come up, grabs my hands and latches them to a chain that is then latched to my feet.

I cry out in pain as they lift me by my hair until my feet support my weight. They let go and someone grabs onto the chain and tugs at it, forcing me to follow them out of my cage and into the hallway.

It feels like we've been walking forever past cells with people shuffling about before we finally reach stairs. We end up in another dark area, and I try to remember the turns we take as we wind through another hallway and up another flight of stairs. This time, we come to a door and I can see light shining through the cracks around it.

I squint, preparing for the light to blind me. When they open the door, it takes me a few seconds for my eyes to adjust. But my captors tug on my chains and make me walk blindly into the light.

Once they adjust, I wish with every cell in my body to become blind again. I recognize my captors. Both of them.


	8. Chapter 8

**A/N: I apologize again for making you wait so long! **** I am really horrible at keeping up with this. There has just been so much going on in my life lately; I haven't really had the time. Not to mention this chapter was so ridiculously hard to write. I have had the worst case of writers block for this whole second part of the story. Sorry again for the long wait AND for the ridiculously short chapter. I'll apologize a million times more. **

**P.S. If anyone has any sort of idea as to where this story should go or any sort of twist, or if you just want to share your opinion, send me a message! I would love to hear all the input from my faithful readers! I love you all!**

**Chapter 8**

My heart aches more than it has ever ached before. My legs collapse beneath me, but two strong hands grip each of my arms, preventing me from falling. Neither of them looks at me. They drag me now down the lighted hallway. I try to focus on where we're going, but the tears in my eyes prevent me from being able to remember any landmarks or distinctions as we turn down hallway after hallway.

The first man, the voice I couldn't quite place in the dark, glances at me, perhaps because he can feel me staring at him. The deep, beautiful blue of Cato's eyes has completely disappeared and now a dull gray is staring back at me. His face shows no sign of emotion or guilt for his earlier brutality. He looks so much like the Cato I met during training before the games. I shudder runs through me, and I turn to the other familiar face, hoping to see something in his eyes.

I am instantly disappointed. Rory won't look at me. He stares straight ahead, focusing on getting to our destination.

"Where are you taking me?" I'm startled at how quiet my voice is. I didn't mean to whisper, but I'm still not over the initial shock of knowing these emotionless escorts.

"Don't speak." Cato grunts back, his grip on my arm tightening in anger.

"Ouch! That hurts." I whimper, my blood going even colder at the realization that the man I had grown to love in the last few weeks is causing me physical pain. I can hardly breathe, anger and disappointment and confusion swirling around in my head.

"It'll hurt more if you don't shut up." Cato snarls back, tightening his grip even more. My fingers start to tingle, but I don't dare say another word to him.

Rory hasn't tightened his grip, which gives me hope. Maybe there's something good left in him.

We finally reach a room that I assume is where we're supposed to be at. There is a table and two chairs on either side. Cato lets go as Rory slams me down into the chair. There goes any hope I had in him having an ounce of his self left. Cato hooks the chains connecting my hands and feet together to the table and they leave, slamming the door behind them.

I try not to let the tears fall, but I can do nothing to stop them. What has happened to Cato and Rory? What has the Capitol done to them? Is there even still a Capitol to blame?

Before I can even begin to sort out all of my questions, the door opens again. This time, I have no problem recognizing the voice that has always been this cold.

"Compose yourself, Miss Everdeen." The disgust leaks from her voice. Thankfully, my hatred of her allows me to forget any sorrow.

"What the hell did you do to Cato and Rory?" I snap, glaring as Coin takes the seat across from me.

"Watch your tongue, girl. I have no patience for your attitude." She glares back as she settles into the seat.

"What do you want from me?" I ask, some of the anger fading from my voice. I am so emotionally exhausted, I don't think I'll be able to handle any conflict ever again. Plus, even in my anger and hatred, I am curious.

"I want you on my side. I want you to help lead this revolution." She laces her fingers together and sets them on the table.

"It doesn't look like you need any help. You already have President Snow captured. What else could possibly be standing in your way?"

"You, my dear. People remember your strength and your selflessness from the games. They are now refusing to take any part of a society that doesn't involve you. You were supposed to be the face of this rebellion, as you must remember my request back in District 13. But never mind that. It is never too late. The only districts I control are the ones the Capitol had their hands all over already. But we are still the minority. People are dying because these _other_ districts are refusing to comply to the new rules. They aren't being grateful that we have taken down the Capitol and the vicious tyranny of President Snow."

I can't help but laugh at the thought of her being less vicious or tyrannical than President Snow. She stops and glares at me before continuing.

"As I was saying, I need you to be the face of this rebellion."

"No." I say loudly, before she can speak any longer.

"My dear child, I am no longer asking. I have long ago realized that you will never comply in the way I need you to. As you have already seen, I have found a magnificent way to get what I want."

I look at her quizzically, thinking she can't possibly mean keeping us caged up like animals. Seeing the confusion on my face, she laughs.

"I was speaking of the two soldiers of mine that brought you to me. I believe you know them very well."

"What did you do to them?" Unlike the first time I asked her this, the anger is gone and the defeat and helplessness seep through my voice.

"Tracker Jacker venom is such a wondrous thing. Back in District 13, I had scientists on this serum day and night. I wanted to be able to control people without having to actually be near them. At first, when we figured out this new usage for the venom, we had to tell the soldiers exactly what we wanted them to do at every second. But after years of research, we found out how to train them and condition them to think for themselves without actually thinking for themselves. It was easy, really. And after a little more research, we learned how to do this in a very short time period. It takes no more than a week to fully train our soldiers now. Impressed?"

"Disgusted is a more appropriate term. What is the point of ruling people who can't think for themselves?"

"I am only controlling the soldiers and the people who are important to my success. You, for example. The rest of the country will still be able to speak for themselves, but that hardly means they will. Once I'm through with this country, everyone will be compliant and there will not be a rebellious thought left."

"How do you plan on doing that? Scare tactics won't work, as you already know."

"I have my plans. None of this is anything you need to worry about. You, after all, will not have control of your own thoughts soon enough."

As soon as the words are out of her mouth, the door opens and there are more brainless soldiers. Thankfully, Cato and Rory are not among them. Coin turns to the soldiers.

"You restrain her. Someone will be in to inject her once she is restrained. When the venom has circulated, let me know."

One man comes towards me. He unlocks my hands and I take a chance to get away from him. I grab for his neck. I claw at his face.

There is a loud sigh from Coin and I feel a jolt run through my body. Shocked, I release my grip on the man and slump in my chair. Coin smiles and holds up a remote.

"You have already been injected with a device that allows me to control you with the push of a button. It isn't a deadly shock, but it's enough to make you comply." She looks at the soldiers and glares. "For crying out loud, she is a young girl. Do not let her overpower you again."

This time, three guards hold me as one straps my arms to the chair. I try to bite them, but they are staying clear of my reach.

"This will go a lot quicker if you would just comply." Coin shakes her head at me before leaving the room.

A woman comes into the room with a case and I cannot hide my surprise. I gasp and she glances up at me.

A flicker of something crosses her eyes as she recognizes me. This shocks me. Is she not being controlled by Coin like the rest of the soldiers?

My mother opens the case and prepares the needle without looking up at me again. I can see that her hands are shaking a little, but soon, she has the venom ready and pushes aside a few soldiers as she makes her way towards me.

"Close your mouth and keep it shut. This will be painful and we can't have you accidently biting off your tongue." Her voice is cool, but not cold.

I feel it as the large needle pierces the skin on my neck, and before I can object or pull away, she pulls out the needle and pushes it next into one arm and then the other, finally draining the syringe of its venom.

I try to reach for my mother, forgetting that I am restrained. I want to call out to her, to ask her why she did this to me in her own free will. But my mouth won't work. There is movement in the room but I can't figure out what is going on. I can't hear anything either.

I begin to panic, but that feeling goes away too as the tingle in my body starts to distract me. Then pain begins to shoot through my body, like lightning. A sharp pain in my knee, then another in the back of my neck. Soon, my whole body is throbbing.

Or at least I think it is soon. I begin losing track of time. The room is spinning and not spinning at the same time. I am confused and elated and in pain and angry all at once. I think I black out a few times, but I can't be sure.

Soldiers come and go, giving me food and treating me better than I've been treated since I first came here. I don't understand what is going on, but I graciously let Rory feed me. Or at least I think it is Rory. Faces are blurring together, as are my memories. Was Madge in a cell with me earlier, or had I imagined it because she is a soldier who has been in and out of this room for who knows how long? Is she a soldier, or am I confusing her for someone else?

My brain hurts from thinking, so I just stop. I think I hear Coin talking to me, but I don't know what she's saying. I'm still very angry with her and I refuse to listen. She either gets sick of me ignoring her or has finished what she came in here to do. Either way, she is gone and the assortment of soldiers make their way in and out of my room again.

I try to keep track of how many times I've been injected. My mother is still the one injecting me. Or at least I think she is. I can't tell if I'm imagining her almost caring face staring back at me when I feel the pinch of the needle. I think I've gotten four injections so far, but I of course can't be sure. I begin to look forward to the tingle before the pain. It is the only time my mind is clear, although it is such a short period, I can't get my thoughts together quickly enough.

During one of my moments of clarity, I notice how sore my body is. I ache as I try to move my limbs, realizing I've probably been in this position for days. Soon after that realization, another one comes to me. I've had enough time to actually acknowledge anything. I look up slowly to see Coin smiling back at me.

"Katniss. Welcome back to reality."

"How—how long have I been-" I start to say. My mouth is dry and my throat hurts. I don't know if it is from lack of use or from some overuse that I cannot remember. Before I can finish my sentence, Coin cuts in.

"About 10 hours now. I have more important things to discuss with you."

"Wait—" I interrupt, completely stunned. "There is no way I was only… whatever that was, for 10 hours! I must have been out for days! Maybe weeks!"

"If you were out for days, you wouldn't be speaking to me like this. Haven't we already discussed how this works?" She sighs and rolls her eyes, obviously annoyed with how slowly I am catching on to things.

"That isn't possible." I mumble, trying my hardest to think back on the whole venom trip. "I was injected more than once." I suddenly remember, looking up at her questioningly.

"Yes. You were injected twice with the venom and once with the anti-venom that brought you back."

"No. I was injected more than that. I remember." I glare at her, sure that she must be wrong.

Something flickers across her face, but she hides it quickly. "Tracker Jacker venom does strange things to the mind. Now, back to the matter at hand. Before I turn you into one of my faithful soldiers, I need you to make a press announcement. We need to let the public see that you are willingly coming to our side and that you are still you."

I can't help but laugh aloud. "And how exactly do you plan on doing that? I'm sure I look worse than any willing person would look. Not to mention the little detail about me not actually being a willing participant in this rebellion."

"There are more ways than one to control a person." The ice in her voice and her eyes as she says this to me makes my blood run cold. I know just by the way she is looking at me that what she is planning is worse than even brainwashing me with Tracker Jacker venom could be. Before I can answer, she stands up.

"Now, you will be escorted by a few soldiers to meet up with the prep team you had from the games. Please try to be civil. I don't want to have to hurt anyone—yet." And with that horrible threat, she leaves the room, leaving me feeling worse than I felt during the entire venom trip.


End file.
